ZAPOTEC EFFIGY URN/FUNERARY URN. REDWARE POTTERY WITH REMNANTS OF WHITE PIGMENTS/PAINT
UNKNOWN AGE
22cm H x 16 cm W x 12 cm D Approximately
This stunning piece of redware pottery is a beautiful example of Pre-Columbian Zapotec art, originated in Oaxaca, South of Mexico.
An item with historic significance, it is a beautiful representation of Latin American ethnographic art. This funerary urn is a unique treasure for any collector and will be an exquisite addition to any display or collection.
Unfortunately no paperwork/certificate accompanies this piece so it is impossible for me to date it.
Does the piece looks old? Yes, but it could also be an antique or later made reproduction piece; or not I simply do not know.
Because of this it will be prices accordingly.
THIS IS A NICE PIECE. A RARE EXAMPLE In GOOD CONDITION
The piece was purchased some time ago at a known London auction house. No previous ownership history given at the time of purchase .
A BIT OF HISTORY 👇
THE average layman knows of but two great native civilizations in America, those of the Aztecs and of the Incas.
However, from central Mexico to northern Chile and Argentina existed other high civilizations, most often related culturally to the two great nations, some of them vassals of the Aztec or Inca empires, but generally quite different in language and divergent in culture. And before all of these, earlier nations and cultures had existed which left the record of their progress beneath the soil.
One of these lesser cultures was that of the Zapotec in the State of Oaxaca in southern Mexico. Entirely different from the Aztec and their predecessors, the Toltec, in language and in most phases of culture, they existed as an independent nation until about the year 1495, when they were conquered and became subject to the Aztec empire.
The funerary urns found around ombs were never placed in the chamber itself, but generally above the lintel of the door, on the roof, on the floor in front of the door, fastened in the façade, placed in niches over the door, or in other similar places. They are generally found in groups of five. Though they almost invariably possess a cylindrical cavity, the purpose of which must have been to contain some material, yet they are always found empty and no clue as to their use is known. It is possible that they contained water for the dead; on the other hand, religious conservatism might have caused the continuation of their form long after their utilitarian employment had been discontinued and their purpose forgotten.
Thank you for watching!
DUE TO THE UNIQUE AND FRAGILE NATURE OD THIS ITEM RETURNS WONT BE ACCEPTED.